Shinigami of the Roses
by Ryomasa
Summary: At the pinnacle of a conspiracy that threatened to destroy both realms of heaven and hell, a pact was formed to join the two forces. As a truce, two souls were sent on different paths, paths that would eventually intersect. And the story begins...
1. Disclaimer

A simple disclaimer so that KiddoShinobi and myself cannot simply be sued at someone's convenience.

Grins.

So, down to the nitty gritty of it all. KiddoShinobi and myself do not own Bleach or Prince of Tennis at all. Nor do we own anything related to these titles except for the originals created by ourselves.

Note: This is not a crossover, Prince of Tennis is only used as a cameo to describe one of our lead characters. So, to prevent oversight, it must be added.

So, to summarize: We do not own anything of Bleach and Prince of Tennis but the ideas planted in our heads by them, although I am inclined to believe that KiddoShinobi does own a large number of plushies.

KiddoShinobi: Runs by hugging a Kon Plushie.

See what I mean?

So, please, read, enjoy, review, and whatever else you may do with this story.

Note: This disclaimer will change every time a chapter is loaded, so check back here to see skits, character interactions, and all sorts of funny things.


	2. Enter Kentaka, Secrets to be Revealed

In the world of the mortals, in the land of mud, in the sphere of humans, the majority of the people have always thought, in one form or another, that when they die they would go to heaven. What they didn't know, however, and what they would most likely never know was what heaven was like. Christianity, Judaism, and many other major religions and the factions there fore believed in the afterlife in some form or another, always speculating on the lines of what this perfect life after death might be like. This is the story of how two completely, and utterly different souls met in the cataclysm and aftermath of war, hate and sin that were not their own. These two souls were sent on a path, separated by that heaven...and the hell that came below the earth to receive those who did not deserve the peace and comfort of the heavenly realm above...the heaven known only as the Soul Society.

On the side of Soul Society are the powerful Shinigami, wielders of the Zanpakutou, or Soul Slayer. Shinigami protect the normal souls from hollows and any other evil things that may attack. This is where all the Shinigami are located. Once in the Soul Society you age very slowly. The Gotei 13, the 13 divisions of higher-ranked Shinigami that police all the souls of Soul Society and the land of mortals, are led by twelve captains and a powerful commander-general. You can only enter the Soul Society if you are a soul, but this has been thwarted by a group of humans by using an interdimension gate of sorts. Not much is known about hell...but rumors hold that there are many demons that serve the royal of the underworld, and that some are stronger than the captains. Some even say that there forms are that of humans, and they are masters of deception, sabotage, and concealment.

Years after the rise of mankind and the beginning of the modernization of the world, the Earth has seen much more activity, most likely due to the abundance of Hollows in the area. Hollows are fallen souls. They are souls that were not admitted into the Soul Society by a Shinigami and were not saved from other Hollows. Souls that have a strong grudge or sadness can also become Hollows because they are left alone. There are two ways a soul can become a Hollow: a Hollow eats the soul or in time the soul will become a Hollow on its own. If a soul is given time to become a Hollow, it will normally take several months. When a fallen soul becomes a Hollow, the hole in their chest open and their Chain of Fate detaches, symbolizing the loss of one's heart and becoming a chunk of mere instinct. The skull-like mask serves as a shield, which protects the exposed instinct from external damages. The moment the spirit becomes a full-fledged Hollow, it will first disperse and reform at a different location. Since the Hollow has lost its heart, it feels emptiness. In order fill this void; they will first attack their loved ones. Once a soul becomes a Hollow, it cannot go back to being a soul. It will always be a Hollow. Shinigami exist to not to kill Hollows, but to cleanse their soul so they can return to the Soul Society.

When the leader of these new Hollows was discovered, heaven and hell were once again caught in a plot to destroy both realms, and to control both realms under a tyrannical empire. At the pinnacle of a conspiracy that threatened to destroy both realms of heaven and hell, this evil plot was thwarted, and with a mind to prevent a similar disaster, this pact was formed. This pact caused a truce between different realms. As a truce, two souls were sent on different paths, paths that would eventually intersect. One of those souls was welcomed into that heaven at her death, but exiled to the hell below due to former actions as a Shinigami, then reborn in the earth below the sky completely unaware of her past life to create the pact of heaven and hell. While the other was spawned in the depths of hell, he was reborn and tossed into the heavens above as a spy and sabotage agent. But then he was sent to the earth below to make sure the reincarnation on the fallen child was not allowed back into the heavens, where she did not belong, and to protect her until she had rediscovered her own mind, to seal the pact of heaven and hell.

And this is where our story begins...

The figure of a young boy walked down the street wearing his new school uniform. His reddish brown hair was short but was still able to flow in the wind a bit, but at this point it was covered by a dirty brown cap that framed his head. His gray sweater his white dress shirt, and his grey pants completed the set perfectly. He was also wearing a maroon tie, and a pair of semi-formal black dress shoes. His round, green eyes peered out from under the cap and focused on what was straight ahead of him as a few strange girls whispered and blushed at him and made stupid girly comments. What they didn't know was he could see things the rest of the world couldn't. As he quickly paced into the school and into the principal's office, he took a seat down in front of the desk as the principal signed the papers on his desk. After a few minutes, the man picked up his glasses, put them on, and spoke to him.

"So, you must be the new transfer student. And your name is Kentaka Shinta-kun, correct? I am the principal of this school, Ikamara Touniro." the principal said. The figure nodded and remained silent. The principal peered over his glasses to get a better look at the new student, but as he looked over to observe the figure the principal seemed a bit surprised. He subtly adjusted the tie on his suit, and he fiddled with a pen on his desk before he continued speaking, clearing his throat in the process. "Err...I meant no offence, but by your name I was under the pretext of assuming you were a girl... what with your name and everything."

Shinta raised a hand for the first time since the session. "It's alright, Touniro-san," Shinta interrupted, finally speaking out. He added to the motion a warm smile that could fool even the best of people. It was the kind of disarming smile that assures the recipient that everything was fine, and it really didn't matter that they did something wrong. Which the principal had, but Shinta didn't look concerned about it. "I get that kind of thing a lot, even at my old school." He opened up again with another beaming smile, the same disarming smile as before.

The principal seemed visibly relieved by this exchange, and as he moved to cover up the awkward feeling he had he picked up a sheet of paper that had previously been inside a folder on his desk. He straightened the pile as he tapped the papers on the desk, and then he spoke up. "Well then, here is your schedule and your locker number, Shinta-kun." The principal smiled back as he handed the boy the sheet of paper he had been straightening. "Also in there is the number of your homeroom, your teacher, and the class list." He smiled, and went back to signing the papers abandoned on his desk. "And I hope you settle right in. I'll send someone over to guide you around later."

"Thank you, Touniro-sama," Shinta smiled again as he took the paper then got up and bowed, leaving through the door with his bag. Outside, he sighed, relieved that the exchange in the office had gone well. He didn't want to be put in an awkward situation, as he couldn't handle those very well. Shrugging his bag up onto his shoulder, he turned the corner from the principal's office and walked through the halls as he looked for his locker. Just as he had turned the corner into a hallway he could have sworn he had been in before. The figure of a girl with flowing black hair that fanned out behind her had come rushed out a room by in a mad furry, clutching a plastic knife in her right hand. Shinta was nearly trampled to death. Hastily stumbling backwards into the other hallway, he stuck his head out to see if the ruckus had passed only to withdraw his head in order to avoid being decapitated by the following orange-and-spiky-haired figure of a boy, chasing down after the girl.

"RUKIAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!" The boy hollered, rapidly gaining on the girl. "WERE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!?!?!?!?!" The girl turned to see the boy following and sweat broke out as she ran even faster. "W-w-WAIT ICHIGO!!!!!" she shouted as he chased her up and down the hall, like running laps. "I'M SURE WE CAN WORK THIS OUT!!" The boy, Ichigo tore after her. "YOU KNOW FULLY WELL WHAT THAT KNIFE IS AND HOW TO USE IT, AND STICKING THE GODDAMN THING NEXT TO MY FACE WAS NOT CALLED FOR!!!!!" The girl, Rukia, stopped and snickered, and then, as if remembering where she was and who she was being chased by, she broke out in sweat again and ran for the nearest staircase. Ichigo followed her, along with a steady stream of ranting.

Slightly puzzled by the nature of that exchange Shinta shrugged and walked down the hall in the opposite direction. He suddenly realized that the door he was at was the one he had needed to go first. He opened the door quietly, and realized he was in the back of the classroom. There was a class full of students who were lounging around, as well as a few that were laughing at the exchange between the two students that had run down the stairs. "Did you see the look on Ichigo-kun's face, Tatsuki-chan?" an orange-haired girl asked in an insanely girlish voice. Shinta looked at the list. Arisawa Tatsuki was the first on the list. "Yeah, Inoue-chan," Tatsuki replied. Just then, Ichigo and Rukia walked in, both of them panting like they had run a relay. In Ichigo's right hand was half a plastic knife, and in Rukia's right hand was the other half. They both sat down, and immediately fell asleep. Inoue, a tall, broad and silent boy, and another kid with glasses went over to them as the rest of the class drifted into conversation.

Shinta then sat down at an empty seat, trying to look ordinary, and as he adjusted his cap the door opened. A tall boy entered the room, unnoticed by everyone in the commotion. He had a lithe frame, and he looked toned. His eyes were an unnatural dark shade of brown, almost black, and they gazed around the room hungrily, as if he was looking for someone. His black hair fell down to about his ears, and then curved upwards like an octopus. He was wearing the standard grey school uniform, but he had a studded belt around his waist, a studded wristband and a sweatband on his right arm, the same assortment on his left arm. He had a golden necklace with a crest, an eagle with two crossed blades in its claws and a flying arrow clutched tightly in its beak, and a bag with a single strap that could hang off his right shoulder and run across his back. He was also wearing a headband with metal plating on the front, with a blade etched on the front as the design. His black sneakers clicked on the floor, and he approached Shinta. None of the class seemed to notice him, and if they did they didn't seem to care.

"Kentaka Shinta-kun, I presume?" The tall boy asked, with an arrogant grin. Shinta looked at him in disgust. "Yeah...What do you want?" The boy grinned. "Shukanteki Tezuka, at your service. The principal told me to show you around." He beckoned to him. "So let's go, before the classes break out and everyone's in the hallway." Shinta shrugged, and Tezuka led him out the door. Showing him the various classrooms, he led him around the building. During the transit from the gym to the outside fields, Tezuka had remained strangely quiet. Once what seemed to be a ghost hovered in front of the duo. Tezuka, however, placed his crest on it, as if the gesture was a way for him to look at the necklace, and the spirit sank into a blue pool of light. Once they reached the outdoor field, Tezuka turned to face Shinta. "Now that it's just the two of us out here, away from the crowds..." He turned around, and didn't even look at her as he talked. "Take the cap off."

Shinta's whole body stiffened, and he froze. Slowly, the figure of Shinta raised a hand, as if he was afraid of what was underneath. He reached up towards the cap as Tezuka stared off into the distance, as if this had nothing to do with him. However, he turned his head as Shinta reached up, as if he was going to pull the dirty brown wide-brimmed cap off his head. His hand stopped next to his cap, and he hesitated, if only in the slightest.

"Tezuka-kun!" A deep voice shouted from behind Shinta, making the youth jump a bit while Tezuka turned around, ball in his pocket and racket held behind his back sideways with his arm. "You were supposed to show the new student around! Not isolate him by the grounds!" Shinta sighed in relief as the teacher walked them back to class. "I'm terribly sorry about that Shinta-kun, Tezuka-kun here always gets carried away when it comes to tours. He get's distracted during buddy shifts at the school, partly because he doesn't like them," the woman said as she led them back to their respective classes she shot Teuka a dirty glance. Tezuka smirked as he heard this comment, and turned his head away in the opposite direction. "By the way, I am Hirukana Yuki, and I'll ask a student from your homeroom to show you around later."

"Arigatou..." Shinta responded flatly with the same smile as always, making Tezuka give him a smirking look as he followed the teacher back to his class. Shinta glared at the boy as he entered the classroom, handing his tardy note to the teacher. Tezuka looked at Shinta as he walked into the classroom, and to Shinta Tezuka's eyes seemed to flash a bright hellfire-red. Shinta gasped, but then composed himself. "Can't be...that's not possible." He took a deep breath as he entered his class, and his teacher called him up front. "Class, it seems we have a new student with us today; please give a warm welcome to Kentaka Shinta-kun," the teacher said as everyone said their hellos, but the thing Shinta hated the most was the very creepy dreamy look girls where giving him. It didn't matter anyway when Shinta noticed that the same kids from before were there. "Shinta-kun, I want you to sit behind Rukia-chan, alright?" With that Shinta saw the black-haired girl's hand go up, making him walk to the desk behind her.

The class went by slower then he would hope for, but luckily it was all over after what seemed to be very little time. Shinta wondered through the empty halls, making him confused every turn when suddenly...BAM! Shinta wound up on the floor with his hat a few meters away, making his long reddish-brown hair come into view. "Gomen, gomen! I wasn't watching where I was going..." another voice said, making Shinta look around to see the orange-haired girl from his class. "Eh? Shinta-kun? Is that you?" Inoue inquired in a very confused child-like voice. Shinta felt his heart racing. "No, no, no, you must have me confused with someone else..." Shinta quickly panicked as he looked around for his hat, just to notice the girl had picked it up. "Could I please have that back...?" Inoue looked at the hat with wide eyes. "But...but...this is Shinta-kun's hat." She mumbled as she looked at it. "I'll give it back if you tell me the truth."

Shinta looked down in shame; he had no other choice but to tell the truth, nothing but the truth. "Ok...you win...I am Kentaka Shinta...but...I'm not a boy. I'm a girl, but I don't like people knowing I'm a girl since everyone looks at me as an inferior. But this is my voice...a bit lower then average, like a guy, but if people see that then they'll laugh. So please...please don't tell anyone...Inoue-chan, onegaishimasu," Shinta mumbled as a lone tear came out. "Don't cry Shinta-chan, I won't tell anyone. I promise." Inoue smiled as she gave Shinta back her hat. "If you want, you can hang with me and my friends, I'll even help you put your hair back up." Shinta took the hat and smiled a warm smile to Inoue, a smile she didn't think she could do for a while. "I would like that a lot, Inoue-chan." Inoue jumped back up with all the exciting energy of a child that has been told she can have a dog. "YOSHI!" She helped Shinta up, and then started running with a vice grip on Shinta's wrist. "Okay, Shinta-chan, the first thing we're gonna do is meet everyone at our next class!" Shinta was being pulled across the schools in a blinding series of turns, twists, staircases, U-turns, and hallways. Shinta managed to stammer out "I-Inoue-chan, I can walk by myself!" when Inoue came to an abrupt stop, sending Shinta plowing into her back and sending them both tumbling over the floor. Inoue hopped right back up again, as if she was not even hurt. "Gomen, gomen! Shinta-chan, I'm so sorry!" Shinta sat up, rubbing her head where it had hit the floor. "It's nothing, Inoue-chan. Just stop calling me chan, it's gonna blow my identity." Inoue smiled like a kid. "Okay, Shinta-kun! Ikuzo!" She picked Shinta back up and hurtled into the classroom.

The black-haired girl called Rukia looked up as Inoue burst into the classroom, busting the door open with a massive clang that grabbed the attention of everyone in the classroom. It was lucky then, that the teacher was not present yet. Inoue sat down as she pulled Shinta behind her, forcing her down into another chair that seemed to appear from nowhere as Inoue yanked it from the table. "Hey guys!" Inoue stated in a sing-song voice. "This is Shinta-kun, the new kid in our class." She gestured at the tall orange-haired kid. "Shinta-kun, this is Kurosaki Ichigo-kun," Inoue pointed at the girl with the black hair Shinta sat behind, "and this is Kuchiki Rukia-chan." Inoue then pointed at the tall, broad guy. "This is Yatsutora Sado-kun, who we call Chad-kun." The tall guy nodded, and Inoue pointed to the one with the glasses. "And last but not least, this is Uryuu Ishida-kun," and Ishida pushed his glasses up his nose and smirked. Shinta nodded, and then the bell rang. All the kids moved into their seats, and as there was only one empty one right in the front by the door, Shinta reluctantly took that seat and sat down. She picked out a book on Elementary Algebra and placed it on the desk, and listened to Ishida, Ichigo, and Rukia discussing something that sounded faintly like "reiatsu." The door open, and in walked a teenager, about 17 and he grinned at Shinta as she turned back around. Dark brown eyes, almost black, stared at Shinta from underneath black hair that curved upwards at the bottom for about an inch.

Shukanteki Tezuka grinned down at Shinta, and then walked over to the teacher's desk.

Shinta's eyes flew open, and she nudged Inoue. "Who is that, Inoue-chan?" Ishida answered before any of them could speak. "That's our school's tensai, or genius, Tezuka-san. He's our resident tensai, the top placer in our school in the standard exams. Have you taken them before?" Ishida paused. Shinta shook her head. "Not really, Ishida-kun." Ishida sighed. "Yeah, sure, whatever. At any rate, Tezuka-kun is only a junior at this school, but he's smart enough to replace the teachers. He even volunteered to teach during the free periods he has during the school time to help the teachers." Ishida shook his head. "Tezuka-kun is a true tensai...unfortunately for the rest of us." Ishida turned to Tezuka, where he stood at the teacher's deck. Tezuka picked up a piece of chalk and the rapped the desk. "Okay class." He drew a small diagram on the chalkboard. "If we..." He led the class on a few algebra exercises tha got harder as time passed; unfortunately, time seemed to be passing very slowly as the class ended.

Shinta shouldered her packwalked out of the hallway with Inoue, but she ushered the group past her. "I've got to go to a water fountain; I feel like I haven't had a drink in ages." Inoue grinned, and waved with a rather loud "good-bye." Shinta grinned ruefully, and then walked down the hall in the opposite direction as the group headed off to break. Shinta smiled as she walked down the hall, and then heard a click of shoes behind her. She whirled around, and Tezuka stood watching her, his eyes as impassive as ever, a bokken stuck through his belt. "So...having fun are we? Making friends, I hope?" He grinned as he held up his right hand. Black energy seemingly derived from the shadows around them gathered around his palm, and a kunai-shaped object spun in the air until he caught it. "Destructive Art #10: Shadow Spell." He paused, and Shinta caught something like pity in his eyes. Then it was gone, and he threw the knife. Shinta dived off to the left to dodge, and Tezuka's eyes narrowed.

"Perfect."

Shinta only had a few seconds to comprehend the meaning of that one word when the knife sunk into her shadow like it had never existed, exiting out of the shadow as quickly as it had entered. Shinta desperately tried to stop so it wouldn't hit her. She quickly dropped her leg to the ground and leaned back, pulling her head backwards, but the knife cut her cheek slightly and knocked off her hat. Long reddish-brown hair flowed out once more as the cap flew through the air and landed neatly on Tezuka's outstretched hand, hanging by the strap at the back. Tezuka smiled, but there was no humor in his smile. "I thought so. It was easy to tell, actually." Shinta's eyes trembled, and suddenly she was on her feet, breaking into a run for the door that led outside at the end of the hall. Tezuka's insanely arrogant laughter echoed in her ears as he repeated the same words. Shinta heard the sound of the knife whistling through the air, and turned to see it headed right over her head. She looked ahead, and realized she was heading straight towards a shadowed wall. _No!_

For some reason, as the knife sank in, her body moved by itself. With a complitated jumping step, Shinta changed direction instantaneously and ran down the corridor, the corner hiding her from her mysterious assailant. The knife itself missed and flew down the corridor, where Tezuka caught it with ease. He looked at it for a moment, and then smiled, closing his fist upon it and disintegrating the dark energy. He walked down the corridor, and smiled. "Soon..." He turned the corner, and raised a finger. "Destructive Art # 31: Amber Flame Cannon." A red fireball formed with a hiss and a ringing noise, and after condensing in his palm it rose and fired itself down the hallway. Shinta heard the whistling noise and looked back as the fire approached. There was one door ahead of her. _Please let me make it!_ The fire was too fast, however, and overtook her before slamming into the door, literally welding it to the wall.

Shinta turned around, a defeated but defiant look in her eyes, and she reached for something in her bag. However, Tezuka was too fast for her. He was at the end of the hall one second, and the next he was in front of her, his hand crossing her front to hold her shoulder. And then he whispered in her ear. "Binding Art #1: Restraint." Instantly, Shinta's arms locked themselves behind her bag, and as she struggled she overbalanced and hit her head on the floor. Her eyes instantly went blank, but as her vision started to fade, she saw Tezuka, who looked at her with utter disdain. "Pathetic, I was hoping that a Shinigami would be more fun. But then again, you don't remember being one, do you?" he said. Shinta watched through fading eyesight as he turned away from her and started walking away towards the door at the end of the hall. Then time seemed to freeze as Shinta's eyes closed, and darkness overcame her senses...

_Cold..._

_So cold..._

_"Oniichan! Why do you have to be so mean to me?!" The girl with reddish-brown hair pouted as a boy with the same reddish-brown hair grinned at her and patted her on the head. "Because if I didn't, how do you expect to become a Shinigami, Shinta-bozu?" He grinned as he walked away with his kendo sword. "Because by the looks of it, I guess I'm gonna win that bet and become a Shinigami first!" _

_"Aho, Hiruko-oniichan!" The five year old shouted as tears streamed down her face. "You'll see! I'm gonna become a Shinigami first, then you're gonna be sorry!" With that the little girl took off running in the other direction, tears free falling from her face as she kept running till night fall. Quickly she tripped and landed face first onto the cold ground making her cry more. She didn't think it was fair, her brother was five years older then her and he pushes such thoughts of never becoming a Shinigami on to her. "It's not fair!!!" She screamed as she lowered her head to cry again. "Hoi, you're gonna catch a cold that way," mumbled a voice, making her look up to see a kid with black hair and grayish eyes that had his hand sticking out, as if wanting her to grab it. Shinta slowly reached for the boy's hand as she looked him over; he seemed like one of those well mannered kids that wouldn't be caught dead helping out a commoner. _

_"Arigatou..." Shinta responded flatly as the boy helped her up. Thus making the boy smile at her, saying "You're welcome, and by the way, I'm Kuchiki Byakuya. What's your name?" Shinta couldn't believe what she was hearing. This kid was from one of the noble families her father told her to stay away from, since they would never except common people like herself! Yet, she couldn't be helped by his kind, although awkward smile, which made it seem like she could get to know him. "Kentaka Shinta." Shinta smiled as she shook his hand, making him smile too. "Well, now that that's settled, let's go get some kakuni (stew made with cubed possibly rectangular pieces of meat or fish) with naruto (steamed fish-paste cake), Kuya-kun!" Shinta sang out. Byakuya's eyes opened wide, but then he nodded rather awkwardly. With that the two new found friends took off, making their way towards the nearest shop._

_"Guess what...Shinta-chan." The sixteen year old boy said to the fifteen year old girl next to him. "What is it Kuya-kun? Did you finally master your bankai?" Shinta asked, a bit surprised at the thought he might have learned it so quickly. "Not quite..." he smiled as he looked up at the cherry blossom trees. "But...a few of the captains say that I have what it takes to become a top notch captain," he stated rather simply. "Really?! That's great news, Kuya-kun! Do you get to choose a lieutenant or do they just give you some random person? Do you get a pink coat like Kyoraku-senpai? Do you-" Shinta went on till Byakuya placed his finger on her lips, making her hush up as he laughed a bit at her always odd questions. But he was used to them by now. "This is what leads us to the thing that I wanted to ask you," he whispered to her, making a few thoughts pop into her head, one which made her blush a bit. "And what's that?" she asked, hoping that he wouldn't keep her in suspense. "If I become captain...do you want to be my lieutenant?" He asked, a bit nervous that she might say no. "For real Kuya-kun?" Shinta asked, a bit stunned, she wanted nothing more then to always stick with Byakuya since they were friends since she could remember. They even became Shinigami together, so becoming his lieutenant would be the happiest thing for her. "Yup." He smiled, making her tackle him into a hug which almost made him fall over. "Of course I would Kuya-kun! Or should I say Kuya-sama?" she questioned playfully as she got off him, allowing him to stand up, and saluted. Byakuya stood up, dusting off the back of his clothes, and corrected her just as playfully. "That's Byakuya-taichou to you, Shinta-fukutaichou," he joked, making Shinta laugh a bit. "In your dreams Kuya-kun, only in your dreams."_

_Yamamoto looked up as Byakuya entered the captain's room. Every other captain was already present, standing at attention. "Kuchiki-san," Yamamoto began, "We believe you really do have what it take's to become the next captain, but I'm afraid there is one test you must pass before you are eligible." Byakuya nodded. "I'm…I'm ready" Yamamoto closed his eyes, and nodded as well. "Very well, Kuchiki-san. You see, there is this...pact that must be sealed by both heaven and hell, but the only way to do so is to kill a very worthy Shinigami. This needs to happen so that they could be sent to hell, then hell will kill one of their demons to send up here, and they will remain for a bit before going down to Earth." Byakuya nodded. "And you want me to..." He stopped talking, at a loss for one of the few times. "Kill a certain Shinigami we chose," Yamamoto finished. He held out a paper, and Byakuya reached for it. "Look..." Byakuya took one glance at the name on the paper, and blanched. "...! You want me to kill... But I can't! I ju-" Yamamoto banged his fist on the table to make his point, something that had been occuring very often nowadays. "Listen Kuchiki-san! Would you rather lose your chance to become captain, and put to shame your family's name, just to save one Shinigami that could just as easily kill you! Or would you rather kill them and have chance to become a great captain?!" Yamamoto bellowed. "Think!" Byakuya lowered his head. "...fine...I'll do it." He looked down at the name written on the paper, but no emotions flittered past his face._

_Shinta walked to her home with a big smile on her face, she couldn't wait to tell her brother the news on how Byakuya might become captain and how he asked her to be his lieutenant. She also wanted to know how he had been doing since she only saw him on the holidays. Happily she reached the house, opening the door with a huge smile on her face. "Hiruko-oniisan!" she called. "Oniisan, I'm-"But before she could finish, Shinta looked in sheer fear and shock to see her brother lying dead on the floor, blood everywhere. "No..." She managed to say as she kneeled next to his dead body and began to cry. "Who...who could have done this to you...?" quietly she cried as a pair of footsteps came closer to her, making her look up to see Byakuya looking at her with saddened eyes. "Kuya-kun...?" Shinta whispered as she got up and hugged him as tight as she could, making more tears flow out. "I'm so sorry Shinta..." He whispered as stroked her hair with one hand. "Please...forgive me." Shinta couldn't understand what Byakuya was saying, why would he ask for forgiveness? Then it struck her...but before she could fully realize it he had flashed forward and stabbed her in the heart with his sealed Zanpakutou in the blink of an eye without any time for her to draw her own Zanpakutou, making her look up at him, eye to eye, in pain. "Why...Why? Kuya...kun...why?" Shinta asked weakly as her lips trembled, as blood trickled down out of them and down her chin. "Because...it's the only way for me to bring honor to my family and to keep my promise to my parents." He whispered coldly as he pulled his sword out of her, turning his back as she fell back and hit the cold floor. "Syonara...Shinta." He whispered as he walked out the door, emotions masked. The last thing Shinta saw was darkness, as Byakuya had just closed the door on her, and left her. "Kuya-kun..." she whispered as the door closed silently, leaving her to fate with her brother. "Bya...kuya...sumimasen," she trailed off._

_"...I never...had the...chance...to call you..."_

_"...taichou..."_

_Cold..._

_So...cold..._

_And...dark..._


	3. The Agent of Hell

David: God! Kiddo, where the hell were you?!

Kiddo: I told you I had to go to the bathroom!

David: For about half a year?!

Kiddo: I got distracted!

David: Uh...yeah, sure. Can we work on this now?

Kiddo: Yeah yeah...I have to re-write this chapter...IT'S TOO BUNCHED UP!!

David: God, now I remember WHY I let you go to the washroom for so long…

Kiddo: Oh quiet you; be glad I came back instead of chasing after some cosplayer dressed as Kakashi.

David: Yeah...fine. We don't own Bleach and so on and so forth. Characters we come up with are owned, depending on who came up with it, by me and Kiddo Shinobi...who finally placed a space in between her name.

Kiddo: How was I supposed to know you could do that?!

David: See what I mean...? Well, anyways...enjoy.

_Shinta...wake up Shinta..._

_Who's there...? Am I... dead?_

_No Shinta...you're not dead..._

Slowly, Shinta began to open her eyes to find herself in a strange place. All the walls and ceilings where covered in mirrors, and everything seemed to be sideways.

"Where am I?" Shinta mumbled as she got up to see that the floor was a mirror too.

"This is your world Shinta-chan...A world that reflects you and the past you," said a voice. Shinta turned to see a girl about her age, with black hair and piercing blue eyes. She seemed carefree and joyful, wearing a flowery kimono. She had a talon birthmark on her left shoulder and a tattooed talon on her right one. She was wearing black pants underneath the kimono, and she also had a small, pink brooch clasped around her neck. On her head she wore a small, pink hairpin in the shape of a rose.

"Who are you, and how do you know all this?" Shinta asked as she walked up to her.

"My name is ---," the girl said, and as she said her name Shinta heard a strange buzzing at the word, "and I am your Zanpakutou," the girl finished, answering simply. "I know all this because I've always been with you since you were a Shinigami, and a human. You were killed by someone precious to you, named Kuchiki Byakuya."

Shinta recognized the name from her dream. Well...not so much a dream.

"So...that wasn't a dream?" Shinta asked, still a bit shocked of the matter, "That...really happened?"

"Correct, Shinta-chan," the girl said as she nodded, "Now that you know the truth you must return to Soul Society to end this havoc."

"Havoc? What havoc?" Shinta asked a bit confused. Her knowledge was incomplete, after all.

"The havoc that has been going on with a place called Soul Society, and another place called Hell. The havoc that made this whole treaty come into existence. All to fight one man," the girl said, pausing before uttering a single name, like it was a forbidden word. "Aizen." The girl quietly uttered this name, as if even in this secluded word this one man could come.

"I see," Shinta whispered as she lowered her head.

The girl gave a tinkling laugh. "Now that I see it...you're not the Shinta I remember. But you're still Shinta, nonetheless. That is why I'm willing to give you your Shinigami powers back." The girl smiled as she held out a blade, thinner and longer than the average katana, but just as sturdy. "Take me. Use me as you see fit. And then try to end this chaos." Shinta nodded as she accepted the blade. "And maybe next time we meet..." the girl said as she began to vanish, leaving Shinta with the blade, "You might remember my name." The girl smiled as she vanished.

Shinta stared at the blade and then held the handle in front of her. She took a breath...and then pulled the blade from the sheath.

Shinta's eyes returned to normal, and it seemed no time had passed at all. She was still lying on the ground with her arms bound by what seemed to be invisible chains. However, there was now a sword lying in front of her. She looked at it, and her eyes started to glow a light blue. With some effort, she blew apart the restraints and grabbed the sword.

Tezuka felt the flux of reiatsu and smiled as she stood up in front of him.

"About time," he simply replied as he held out his hand and another shadow knife formed, floating above his palm. "Destructive Art #10: Shadow-" he started. This time, however, Shinta knew what to do.

Her mind knew what to do, and her body acted on this impulse. Her left arm shot out, and her mouth made the words that her body had waited to hear, for such a long time. It was as if the heritage she carried roared into her mind for just a second, granting her access to knowledge she didn't even know she had.

"Destructive Art #4! White Lightning!"

Tezuka managed to pull his hand back a fraction, just to get the knife shot right out from over his hand. "Oh...?" Tesuka watched as the kunai literally evaporated, and the wall behind him had a burn mark in it, making him turn his attention to Shinta. Her clothes were black with white lining and there were two of her!

One still wearing her uniform and collapsed on the floor and this new one that was carrying a long sword in her right hand; her left hand was extended, pointer finger aimed right at the spot where his hand had been

"You want a fight Tezuka...then I'll give you one!" Shinta shouted as she pointed her blade at him.

Tezuka grinned. "Sure..." The very way he acted, his cool manner infuriated Shinta. She charged, and he moved. His right hand drew the bokken from his belt. He whispered quietly, smiling with the ease of a natural.

"Solucionar. Release."

And suddenly the wood peeled away and he had a katana in his hand. The blade of the katana was the same color as hers, except the hilt was different and it was smaller. As the transformation finished, he raised the blade and smiled as he parried and deflected her attack with the ease of a natural.

Angry at the way he was effortless moves, Shinta yelled with frustration and attacked again. He easily countered her again and again, but as he parried the last hit he jumped backwards and put the blade back into his belt.

Shinta, angered beyond the point of return by now, did the same, sheathing the sword in her belt as well. She raised a hand. "Destructive Art #31! Amber Flame Cannon!"

The red fire blasted from her palm, and soared towards her enemy. Tezuka smiled, and shook his head. He raised his hand, and smiled as black energy with a red aura began to gather in his own palm, and just as the shot was about to hit, he spoke.

"Hanki."

He raised his hand and thrust forward; the ball of reiatsu struck her fireball and suddenly both energies just winked out of existence. Tezuka stood, his arm extended, and then he straightened. "Hanki, or Reverse Demon. We were the creators of this technique, and we passed it on to Shihouin Yoruichi, over a century ago."

He then stood, and drew his katana...but then he dropped the sword to his side. Shinta took the opportunity and ran in, only to stop cold as she felt something pricking the back of her neck.

Something that was cold and sharp rested on that sensitive spot, and Shinta realized that Tezuka's blade was pressed against the neck of her physical body. She could feel it on her own neck. Tezuka stood, with an emotionless, analyzing look. "Shinta, you would not want to move right now, or you'll have to wait until your friends find a different body for you." He closed his eyes as he raised his right hand.

"Negación."

A red vortex appeared, and Shinta's body slid through the floor. Tezuka looked into her eyes. "You might want to get your body back...or you'll be stuck wandering as a rogue soul for quite some time. He twirled his katana once, and a bright flame erupted from the floor, as he stepped back into the flames and vanished. "My suggestion would be to..."

"Find the Last Quincy and the Ryoka Shinigami."

Shinta stood there in anger; how was she supposed to find a Quincy and another Shinigami? For all she knew, she was the only Shinigami there!

"Oi! Who are you and why are you here?!" A familiar voice shouted from behind her, forcing Shinta to turn and face none other then her new found friends. "Eh? Shinta-san?"

"You can see me?" Shinta asked in amazement as Rukia stepped forward, looking Shinta deep in the eyes.

"So you're a Shinigami? Interesting...what division are you from?" Rukia interrogated as a clueless look came upon Shinta's face.

"Shinigami? Division? I don't know what you're talking about! That Tezuka kid just jacked my body!" Shinta shouted in annoyance as she tried to explain to them what happened. "The last thing he said was 'find the Last Quincy and the Ryoka Shinigami.' The hell does that mean?"

"So he knows about us..." Ishida mumbled to himself, but unfortunately he was still loud enough for everyone else to hear.

"Wait, one of you is the Last Quincy and the Ryoka Shinigami?" Shinta asked in shock as they all simply nodded.

"Ishida is the Last Quincy, and Ichigo is the Ryoka Shinigami." Rukia explained as Shinta jabbed her Zanpaktou into the ground and began to think. All of this was just too confusing for her, first she has flashes of her past life, and then she finds out that two of her new friends are just as weird as her. How could this get any weirder?

"I need to get my body back...but I can't without you two." Shinta explained as she bowed forward. "Please help me out, I have no idea what in the world is happening."

"I just met you." Ichigo grumbled in annoyance that he just met this kid and now she wants her body back. "But I'll help you; I can't stand it when people pick on others."

"I guess I have no choice…" Ishida sighed as Inoue began to cheer in the background at how nice everyone was being to their new found friend. "But, where do we start looking?"

As if on cue, a spirit appeared, a small chain hanging from his chest. The gang looked at each other, apparently worried. Ichigo raised some sort of skull pendant and suddenly, another him appeared from the body, which fell to the ground. The other Ichigo was dressed the same way as Shinta was, but he was carrying a much bigger sword. It looked like an overgrown, curved sushi knife.

Ichigo raised the hilt, but the spirit screamed in agony as the chain literally exploded, and then a large gate with a giant skeleton appeared behind it. Both Ichigo and Rukia gasped and jumped back as the doors opened. Shinta could only stand there in amazement, but Chad moved forward and pulled her back. "Shinta-chan, please watch out." Shinta was confused. _Watch out for what-_

It was at that moment that a giant sword came through the gate and speared the spirit upon the tip. The blood from the writhing entity splashed across the floor, as it was dragged in on the blade. The doors closed with a final slam, and vanished.

Visibly shaken, the group watched as the blood formed into capital letters.

"FIND THE WAREHOUSE ON THE EAST SIDE, AND YOU'LL FIND ME."


End file.
